Velocipede



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J. S. OOPELAND.

VELOGIPEDE. h Patented Oct. 8, 1889.

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VELOGIPBDE.

Patented Dnt. 8, 1889.

W NESEELE- UNITED STATES PATENT JAMES S. COPELAND, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE POPE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

VELOCIPEDE.

SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 412,322, dated October 8, 1889.

Application filed May 21, 1888. Serial No. 274,509. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, JAMns S. COPELAND, of Hart-ford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Velocipedes, of which the following is a specification.

My present improvements relate more particnlarly to the frame-work and steering' and brake mechanisin of tricycles and Safety-Velocipedes, an d are especially applioable in connection with the steering -handles and guiding-wheel fork of such machines; but they are also applicable, with such 'modifica-tions as might be obvious to any mechanic, in other machines and in other positions than those in which I show and describe their application herein.

The obj eot of my present improvements is to produce an improved spring-frame, an improved steering head, an improved brake mechanism, a light, eifective, comfortable, economica-l, and practioable inechanism by which the frame and` the rider of the Velocipede may be relieved from the jars and shocks occasioned by obstructions and in equalities in the path of the machine; and my invention consists in certain constructions and combinations of parts, which will bebest understood from the following description and a reference to the acconipanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows in side elevation part of the' guiding wheel and frame and the steeringhandle, head, and brake mechanis'm of a safety-bicycle, enibodying my improvements in. one form. Fig'. 2 shows parts of the same in cross-section and top plan on the line x of Fig. 1; and Fig. '3 shows parts of the same in cross-section and topplan on the line y y of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 shows the same things as Fig. 1, except the wheel, in front end elevation.

A is a guiding-wheel; B, the fork spanning the gniding-wheel and connected therewith, in the usual inanner, by an axle and bearings.

O is a tnbular pillarconnected with the fork B, by brazing' or otherwise, and on which, at the bott-om or near the fork, I place an encircling transverse lug C', and on 01' near the top end, 01' at some distance above the 111g O', I place another similar encircling' transverse lug' Ci.

D is another tubnlar pillar, which, as I call O the foro pillar, I will call the after pillar, and which is nearly parallel with the former. Upon or near the lower end of this after pillar D, I place an encircling trans- Verse log D', and higher up I place on it another transverse encircling lug D2, and above the transverse lug D2, I place an encircling ring or clip D3, bearing a bracketfor a lamp,

as at E, and on the opposite or rear side I I connect by the fore-and-aft links K K, by

means of the bolts K' K' and nnts K2 K2, in a manner similar to that in which I connect the lower lugs O' D' but by preference I makethe links K K longer than the links L L, for a purpose to be explained further on.

O' is a lug formed on the encircling trans- Verse lug' D', bearing' a stop in its upper side for t-he lower end of a steering-spindle O, and above the lug O', I place the lug O2, which I form on or as part of an intermediate encircling` lug' I), attached to the pillar D by brazing or otherwise, and in this lug O2 operates a threaded 'adjusting-bolt O3, which bears at its lower end a seat for the upper end of the steering-spindle O, and which is held in position by the set-nut O4, and O5 is a neck and O6 a reach connecting the main frame of the Velocipede with the spindle O.

P is an encircling bracket or lug' placed on the pillar D and secured there, and which I construct with the two arms P' P'-one on either side, and each having a stop P2 projecting outwardly.

R is a spring, made of round steel Wire or rod, bent' at its middle part R', which I place in front of the pillar O and ben eath the stops P2 P2 and bend backwa-rd, with the arms R2, coils R3, forward and downward projccting arms R4, and with its ends R5 R5 secure-d in the lng O' to the pillar C.

G is a brake handle lever pivoted in a bracket G' to the handle-bar F', having the handle g' and the disengaging-spring g, and with its shorter end g2 pivoted by the pin Q3 to the Wrist G2, and a downward rod G3. This downward rod G3 maybe made extensible by a clampll' in a ball and socket or other device, as H, to one end of a rocking link G4. This rocking link G4, I pivot by a small bolt 6/4 to one of the links K, at or or near its middle part. A second downward rod G6 is connected by a wrist G5 at its upper end and a pin (15 with the other end of the rocking` link G4, and at its lower end by a wrist G7 to the brake-spoon lever G8, which may be pivoted 01' fulcrumed in any usual or suitable inauner to the fork B, and having at its other end the spoon G9, Operating upon the tire of the guiding-whe'el.

By this construction and arrangement it will now be vseen that I have a velocipedespring-frame mechanism having a fore pillar and an after pillar and connecting-links and a limiting-spring; but I do not elaim this construction, broadly, for I am aware that another before me has made a steering-head in two parts, having a fore pillar of tubular form and a solid after pillar or inner pillar sliding in the first and connected to it by two pairs of links, and having also a bent flat spring' with one end connected to the arch of the fork and the other end resting beneath the inner pillar, and in which the handle-bar support Was connected With the inner pillar; but I construct my two pillars entirely outside of and separate from each other, both of tubes un'slotted and unweaken ed, and in other details and respects, except those I have above mentioned, my devices and combinations are different in their construction and operation. By making the upper links K K longer than the lower ones L L the two pillars are permitted to take a different direction or angular relation with each other under the operation of the machine. Thus if the guidingwheel encounters an obstruction and is wholly or partially arrested or lifted, the spring yields, the links swing, and the frame and rider are thereby relieved of a portion or most of the jar, but not by the movement meilely of the pillar C in a parallel direction with the pillar D, but the upper end is permitted by the longer link to take a slight coincident motion away from the pillar D and the fork B and the wheel A to yield backward considerably, and thus doubly yield to the obstruction; and a similar effect is produced When the obstruction is to the rear wheel, or when the jolt causes an action of the pillar D it is accompanied by a slight change of base of the machine.

I get a long secure mechanism by placing the fore-and-aft links K L quite a distance apart, and this is permitted by my construction of an intermediate bracket P, carrying the lug for the upper steering-center. By making this bracket or encircling lug integral with the lug O2 and the arms and ,stop

.P' P2, I secure strength and economy and lightness. The spring R is held seeurely in position by the method of attaching its ends to the lug C', and holding its opposite part by the stops P2, and by means of the long branches and coils I obtain a very resilient spring of sufficient power, but permitting much play.

By my construction of the brake mechanism I secure greater directness and'efficiency with less friction. In Operating it, the rider squeezes upward on the handle g', which, by the action of the intermediate parts, presses downward the back arm of the rocking link G4, and thus pulls upward on the connectingrod G and' forces the spoon G9 against the tire. VVhen the hold of the rideris hand is released from the brake-handle, the disengagimg-spring g, between the handle-bar and the brake-handle lever, reverses this operation of the parts and releases the brake. By this division of the downward connecting-rods and the interposition of the rocking link pivoted on the fore-and-aft link K, I provide for the Vertical motion of the handle-bar and brakehandle lever under the yielding action of the spring and the links in such manner that the brake-spoon G9=is .not aifected by the change in height of the brake-handle lever within such limits as are provided for it, nor is the improvements may be used `without using 'the whole, and that modifications in the form and arrangement of the parts may be effected without departing from the substance of my invention-as, for eXamples, the spring R may be made in two parts instead of one piece of Wire, and different forms of Springs may be used; or different forms of lugs and branches may be used; or the fork may be connected with the under pillar or the handle-bar support with the forward pillar; or the forward pillar, instead of being connected directly to the 'fork and extending Vertically above it, may be connected at a distance by intervening mechanism, or the spring and stops and link mechanism and the two pillars may be used in other parts of the machine; but I have described the one in which I think my improvements are best embodied.

I claim as new and of my inVent-ionfl 1. In a Velocipede-spring-frame mechanism having a fore pillar and an after pillar and connecting-links and-a limiting-spring, the upper pair of links, as K K, longer than the lower pair, as L L, and constructed andthe tubular after pillar, as D, the encircling transverse lug, as D' a lower center lug, as

IIO

O', and 'the intermediate encircling lng P, and the upper center 111g, as O2, eonstructed and combined snbstantially as set forth.

In' a Velocipede-spring-frame mechanism having,` a fore pillar and an after pillar and connecting-links and a limiting-spring, the upper center lug O2, oonstrneted and combined between the transverse lngs and the upper and lower links, essentially as set forth.

4. In a velocipede-spring-frame mechanism having a fore pillar and an after pillar and conneeting-links, a spring, as R, with its ends R5 R5 secured to one of the pillars, and its middle part bent to form a loop, as R' above the same, and With the arms, as R.2 R2,

Operating against stops, as P2 P2, connected to the other pillar, and With the eoils R3 Rs and arms B;1 R1, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a Velooipede-spring-frame mechanism having a brake meehanism With the handle-lever at the handle-bar and connected with one portion of the frame and having the brake-spoon lever connected with anothei` portion of the frame, a connecting rod or rods, as G8 G6, and a rocking link, as G4, pivoted at or near the center of motion between the two parts of the frame, and oonstructed and combined to operate essentially as set forth.

6. In a velocipede-spring-frame mechanism having a fore pillar and an after pillar and-conneeting-links and a limiting-spring, and having a brake mechanism with the handle-lever connected with the handle-bar and with one of the pillars, and having' a brakespoon lever connected With the other pillar, eonnecting-rods, as Gr3 and GG, and a rooking link, as G4, pivoted at a point between the pillars, and eonstrnoted and combined essentially as set forth.

7. The combination of the handle-bar and snpporting mechanism and fork of a Velocipede, a brake-handle lever, as G, fnlcrumed in a bracket on the under side of the handlebar, jointed eonnecting-rods, as G3 G2 rocking' link, as G4, and brake spoon and lever, as G8 G9, construeted and combined to operate essentially as set forth.

JAMES S. COPELAND' Witnesses:

G. M.. BARNARD, F. E. BLDEN. 

